Someone
who had happened upon my site and asked to quote him on a 24” version
of the Star Destroyer contacted me. Having never done a commission
before, or for that matter completing a scratch built model at all, I
was a bit apprehensive about taking this on.

This project was started on March 19, 2005

The
keel and basic shape in place. I've made several proportional
corrections from the larger model, most notably bringing the port and
starboard cut-outs forward. March 22, 2005

Framing the bottom up. 162 fiber optic strands in place and awaiting a light source. March 24, 2005

Staring to detail the Main Hangar.

Surface work. May 9, 2005

The
Main Hangar. The "kit bashed" parts have not been glued down, just
checking for placement. (This version of the crane "claw" has since been
scrubbed.) May 15, 2005

Brim
Trenches in place. I've started installing the electrical system. The
upper hull is built, but only set in place until the trench has been
lit.

A look at the underside.

Brim trench lighting

Roughing
in the engine compartment and doing a light test. The main engines
still need to be aligned and glued, but only after all the detail has
been added.

The
super structure roughed in. It has been constructed in modules and will
not be glued down until after the detail is added and fiber optics are
in place.

A
higher view. The bridge appears to be too long, but the super structure
should end up being a good two centimeters wider once the detail has
been added.

The profile.

For the super structure detail, I decided to do the "shelving" first, then go in and run the lights and the rest of the detail.

Adding
the detail became rather tedious, but it was fun to see it start to
flesh out. I purchased an assortment of 1/1000 scale battleship models
and a handful of 1/72 tank kits to kit bash. I molded 50 or so select
parts, then duplicated them in resin.

The
engine area is one of the more intimidating sections, there's just so
much going on back there. I found myself going back to it several time
to add "just one more layer" of detail.

It
felt great to finally get the sides of the super structure done, but
looking back, she still looks pretty plain without the bridge and deck
detail.

Just another view.

Dang, still hadn't got to the back detail.

Same view with an engine test.

I kept catching myself trying to apply the detail symmetrically.

Getting closer.

Having all the major components finally in place really help getting the detailing done.

A peek at the trash dump. The internal fiber optics have yet to clipped flush. And yes, those are McDonald's drinking straws.

Just
a wider view. I'm still running her off shore power, but the 9v battery
compartment is ready to go. The door slips into a right sided slot,
then a magnet holds the left side down.

The detail make all the difference.

No
Star ESB Destroyer would be complete without one of these hitching
along. I search high and low for a tiny Falcon that was close to scale,
but ended up building her from scratch. She's composed of a few layers
of Styrene, a little tubing and a couple of drilled holes. A lot of
squinting went into it as well.

Still shy some surface detail and the dome antennas.

Thanks for following the progress.

The following pictures were taken by the owner and used here with his permission: